For children, the world is literally their playground and the only thing that limits them from playing is their imagination. That’s why these little troopers have no qualms about digging their hands into sandpits, running their hands across monkey bars and picking up germs from the slides and swings along the way.
And with these same pair of hands, they eat or rub their eyes causing germs to enter their bodies. When that happens, it can lead to diseases such as diarrhoea and hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). So an effective way to chase the germs away is to teach our little ones to wash their hands with soap, which can effectively re.
Just like all cleaning habits, hand washing needs to be taught. Now we all know that kids rather spend an extra minute at the playground than in the toilet scrubbing their hands, so it’s important to add some fun when teaching about handwashing. And once they do it often enough, they’ll pick up the habit and do it without reminders.
Here are some fun ways to teach your children about hand washing
1. Washing their hands to a song
Just ask Barney the dinosaurs and he’ll tell you that singing and dancing is totally up any kid’s ally.
To get kids to scrub their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, you can sing “This Is the Way We Wash Our Hands” to the tune of “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush”.
These are the lyrics
This is the way we wash our hands, wash our hands, wash our hands,
This is the way we wash our hands, early in the morning.
This is the way we scrub our hands, scrub our hands, scrub our hands,
This is the way we scrub our hands, early in the morning.
This is the way we rinse our hands, rinse our hands, rinse our hands,
This is the way we rinse our hands, early in the morning!
2. Now you see it, now you don’t
Play a game of now you see it, now you don’t
Use different colored glitter and sprinkle it on the hands of two to three children. Teach them to imagine that the glitter represents germs and observe how germs can transfer from the surface of one hand to another, when they shake each other’s hands or give high 5s.
Explain to them that the different colored glitter on their hands shows that their hands have picked up the “germs” from other children. Now try to get them to wash it off with water. This should prove to be a challenge so later introduce soap and a little warm water and it should do the trick.
Make this a teaching point that only soap and water will effectively remove the germs off their hands.
3. Reward good habits
All kids love a reward. So turn hand washing into a game with a hand washing chart and reward them with a sticker each time they follow the steps of proper hand washing.
So who’s ready to wash those dirty hands now?
15 October is Global Handwashing Day, where more than 100 countries around the world will be celebrating this special event. To mark the Global Handwashing Month, Lifebuoy would like you to take a pledge to make a difference in a child’s life. With your help, more young lives will be taught the importance of washing their hands with soap to prevent potentially fatal diseases caused by poor hand hygiene
Visit Lifebuoy’s Facebook and make a pledge to save millions of children’s lives around the world today!
Tagged: global handwashing day, sponsored
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